Chained to Fate
by MinnieMay
Summary: A dangerous prophecy is unveiled that seems to center around Connor, who is getting…mean? Sequel of sorts to Cruise Control (D/C, W/F, possibly C/A) *Chapter 3 added!*
1. Chapter 1 Cuffed

Title: Chained to Fate   
Chapter: 1 - Cuffed   
Author: Minnie-May   
Distribution: Archive permission granted to: Unnatural, WNW, Bookish, Gifted. All others please ask.   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Angel (not even Wesley ;_;) they are all owned by Joss Whedon and the fine folks of Mutant Enemy…..lucky….   
Summary: A dangerous prophecy is unveiled that seems to center around Connor, who is getting…mean? Sequel of sorts to Cruise Control (D/C, W/F, possibly C/A)   
Rating: PG-13   
Feedback: Yes please! Send to: sweet_senshi@hotmail.com   
Notes: Ok this takes place directly after the events in Cruise Control. You don't have to read that fic to understand this one but they're in the same future time frame so you might wanna give it a read. And review…..^_~ 

Chained to Fate

Chapter One- Cuffed

The air was warm and slightly moist as Dawn and Connor walked hand in hand down the streets of LA. The two had been talking a few minutes earlier about Connor's driving lesson and how he had done. Dawn kept insisting that he was doing great but Connor knew that she was just being nice. It had been a miracle he hadn't hit anything and they had been in an empty parking lot. Not exactly a promising start in the wonderful world of driving. 

It was fairly late at night, at least midnight if not later, and the streets were almost deserted as they walked along towards the Hyperion. A woman walking a dog strolled by briskly, only sparing them a small glance over her shoulder to wonder what kids their age were doing out so late. Connor felt happier than he had felt in a long time to be just walking along with Dawn at his side. He was so content that he hardly noticed that Dawn had begun talking again.

"--And so he was all like 'Niblet, the brakes!' I mean like shesh, yelling at me is gonna make it better? So I totally panicked and rear-ended the car in front of me, which ironically enough, was fully of vampires. And can you BELIEVE that Spike had the nerve to blame me that one of them ripped his crusty old duster? I mean, hello, about to fall apart anyway" Dawn fumed, ranting as they walked along. 

She turned towards Connor and he nodded at her words, agreeing with whatever it was that she had said. Apparently it was the golden rule for talking with women when they were mad; agree with everything they said. Or at least that's what Angel had told him, but looking back on Angel's record with the ladies Connor wondered why he even paid attention to Angel's love advice. 

"--So I said…" Dawn trailed off and looked over at Connor, arching an eyebrow crossly. "Are you even listening to me?" Dawn asked sharply. 'Oh God', Connor thought, aware that his mind had wandered while she talked. 'I need a recovery, and quick' he thought furtively, glancing around at anything that could get her mind off the topic. 

"You know, you look really beautiful tonight" Connor said, squeezing her hand. Dawn felt a bright red spread across her cheeks and she glanced at the ground to cover her blush. 'Score one for Connor' he thought to himself, mentally patting himself on the back for a quick recovery. 

"Thanks" she mumbled to the ground, then raised her gaze and looked over at Connor, the moonlight reflecting off her big brown eyes almost enough to make him gasp. "If you think that's gonna get you out of not listening though, your in for a big surprise mister" Dawn informed him, taking up her glare once again. 

'Well' Connor thought to himself grimly, 'it was worth the shot.' 

"But now" Dawn said, smiling at him in a way that made his stomach turn. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you" she said edging closer to Connor as she talked. Connor gulped down a thick breath of air and stared at her with huge eyes. 

"I bet your…" she said, trailing off as she ran her hand up Connor's arm. His heart was beating in his throat and it was suddenly hard to find enough air to breathe. "…Majorly ticklish" Dawn finished as she ran her hand up to his shoulder and snuck under his armpit to tickle him. 

A short burst of laughter erupted from Connor as Dawn surprised him with her sudden tickle attack. It was true that Connor was very ticklish and he tried to squirm out of her way to avoid anymore torture. But Dawn kept at it, going for a full on tickle attack and soon Connor was laughing so hard that he was crying. He tried feebly to get back at her but she was quicker than he was and not handicapped by the laughs that were still erupting from Connor. 

"Not…*gasp *…..fair" Connor managed to get out between laughs. Dawn stopped tickling him and giggled to see the harassed look on his face. "I don't think the crime merited the punishment" Connor pouted, taking a step closer. 

"Well, how about this then?" Dawn asked, stepping closer to Connor so there was barely an inch separating them. She leaned closer to him, intent upon finishing the kiss that Wesley had interrupted that afternoon. Connor leaned down as well, Dawn the only thing on his mind, when a crash from a nearby alleyway broke them apart. 

"What was that?" Dawn hissed at Connor, eyes glued to the alley. It was cast in shadows and Connor couldn't see anything, save the inky blackness.

"I don't know" Connor whispered back, grabbing onto Dawn's elbow. "But maybe we should go and not find out" he suggested, beginning to pull her away from the alley. If he had been alone Connor would have probably taken the time to investigate. But having Dawn along changed everything; the thought of getting her hurt was unbearable. 

"We can't just leave" Dawn said, yanking her elbow out of Connor's grasp and giving him a dirty look. She hated being babied above all things and she got enough of that at home. She had proven time and again that she could handle herself decently, yet everyone was always trying to protect her. Trying to shut her off from anything that could be potentially dangerous. Which was ironic because since her sister was the Slayer that pretty much equaled constant danger. Wouldn't it be better if she had some experience?

"Dawn, we don't know what that is" Connor stated, going for the obvious to convince her to leave. 

"Well duh, that's why we investigate" Dawn stated, rolling her eyes and edging toward the open mouth of the alley. Connor trailed reluctantly behind her, wishing that she would just listen to him every now and then. "I mean what if it's a vampire that's about to snack on some unknowing victim" Dawn hissed over her shoulder.

"So you'd rather be that victim?" Connor mumbled to himself, sliding up behind Dawn and pulling the stake from his pocket.

"What?" Dawn asked, having missed the last comment. Connor shook his head in a nevermind gesture and handed her a stake. 

The two began edging their way into the alley, backs pushed up against the right wall as they slid in. Connor had now taken the lead and was squinting into the darkness. His sensitive eyesight picked up a dark shape against the wall opposite them and he stuck his arm out to tell Dawn to stay where she was. With all the stealth possible he snuck across the alley towards the dark shape. The closer he got the more defined the shape became; it looked human but then again so did a lot of demons. 

Whatever it was didn't wait for him to come say hello. With more speed and strength than Connor thought possible the shape flew at him and knocked him back, almost sending him onto his back. Connor steadied himself and waited for the next attack, casting his eyes about for any signs of the demon. He was clearly at a disadvantage in the dark alleyway where his eyesight was suffering. 

His eyes adjusted slightly, just in time for him to see the figure come at him again. This time he was ready and when the attacker lunged for him Connor quickly stepped out of his path. He grabbed his attacker's arm and flipped him over his head, where he landed near the mouth of the alley with a satisfying crunch. Connor sped up to finish it off before it could recover but was too late. The creature jumped up and turned to face Connor, showing itself to be a vampire with it's yellow eyes and thick brow. Connor twirled the stake in his hands, testing out the weight as he crept closer. 

It was then, just as he was practically upon the vampire, that he heard it. A scream. Not just any scream though, Dawn's scream. 

Connor spun around, brown hair whipping in his eyes, to see at least four more vampires crowded around Dawn. One held her from behind with it's strong hand clamped around her neck, choking her off as she tried to give out another scream. As he watched, Dawn elbowed the creature in the face as hard as she could, forcing it to lose it's grip on her. She tried to run away but another vampire in the group just grabbed her and pressed a knife against her throat. Dawn stared over at Connor wide-eyed and afraid. 

"We have been looking for you for a very long time" the vampire near Connor said, his voice sounding ghostly and unreal. 

"Well I've been in town for a few months now" Dawn commented trying to edge her throat away from the knife. "Couldn't have been looking very hard."

"Not you, insolent girl" the vampire said, gaze ticking to Dawn and then back to Connor again. "We have been looking for the Miracle Child" the vampire stated, addressing Connor. 

"Miracle child?" Dawn asked incredulously. "How come I don't get any cool nicknames?" she asked, sarcasm coming off her in waves. Never show vampires fear; it was something Dawn had learned from her sister.

"Quiet!" the vampire holding her snapped, trashing her back and forth a bit. Dawn saw stars flash up before her eyes. These vampires obviously had like NO sense of humor. 

"If you're after me let Dawn go" Connor said, finally finding his voice. Dawn rolled her eyes at being treated like the hostage that she was. If she had any dignity by the time this was finished she would be seriously surprised. Of course that was assuming she would be _alive_ after this. 

"We have come with glad tidings, O Most High" one of the vampires said, bowing before Connor. Connor's eyes got very wide and he glanced around the alleyway to see if they were indeed talking to him. "The prophecy is about to come to pass; we are here to speed it on its way."

"Prophecy?" Connor asked, hearing the confusion in his own voice. "What prophecy?" 

The vampire kneeling in front of him didn't answer but snaked his hand into his jacket and pulled something out. It had a round shape but Connor could tell little else about the object. 

Instead of waiting to be skewered with whatever the vampire had just pulled from his jacket, Connor flung into action. He lashed out an arm and caught the vamp in the side of the head, knocking him down. He pulled the stake up and plunged it down, mark about to hit home when another of the vampires jumped on his back and pulled him away. Connor threw himself from side to side to shake the vamp but it didn't work, the vampire had a strong hold on him. 

Behind him Connor heard Dawn scream again and prayed that she would be all right. For all everyone tried to protect her, Dawn actually was a decent fighter when she needed to be and Connor prayed that her skills would keep her from any serious harm. He wanted badly to go and help Dawn, to make sure she was all right, but first he had to take care of the vampire still clinging to his back. He pulled his elbow back and rammed it straight into the vamp's ribs, hearing a telltale cracking that meant he had broken something. Unfortunately the vampire still did not loosen his grip on Connor, but he heard it emit a small grunt of pain. 

The vamp on the ground rolled over and Connor saw that it had the round object in it's hands. For some reason Connor couldn't name, the object gave him a sense of dread that went down to his very bones. The vampire pulled back his arm and hefted the object to the vampire on Connor's back. Connor tried to swerve out of the way but that was easier said than done with a huge vamp on your back. The vampire on top of him caught the circular object and gave a low, dangerous laugh. 

Panicked, Connor rammed the vampire into the wall beside him, taking him by surprise and causing him to tumble off the younger boy's back. The vampire was up in a moment however, and Connor threw a hard kick into his broken ribs, hearing another loud crack. A pained looked passed over the vamp's face but it hardly lost momentum, fist almost connecting with Connor's face. 

Connor stumbled back into the waiting arms of another of the vampires. He turned his head in time to see Dawn sprint towards the mouth of the alley then get grabbed by two of the remaining five vampires. They dragged her back beside Connor and the two of them shared a panicked look.

"I don't see why you had to make this hard" the original vampire said, putting a hand to his head and staring at Connor. "We're not going to hurt you." 

"Oh yea we really feel comforted now" Dawn mumbled as one of the vamps walked up and stood directly in front of Connor. It took the round object from it's pocket and grabbed Connor's arm. He tried to yank his arm free but to no avail. 

The vampire slammed the thing down around Connor's wrist, encircling it as Connor tried to yank free once more. Then the vamp said a few hurried words in Latin and smiled as the cuff gave off a dull glow. He turned to regard Connor once more as he began backing out of the alley.

"Events have been set in motion, it won't be long now" the vampire said as it turned and fled the scene. The other vamps quickly let go of Connor and Dawn and followed the first out the mouth of the alley and into the night. 

"Geez, cryptic much?" Dawn muttered, then turned her gaze to Connor. "Are you alright? What did they do to you?" she asked with obvious concern. 

"I'm not sure" Connor said vaguely, staring down at his wrist. "They put this cuff on me" he remarked. Dawn grabbed his arm and inspected what he was talking about. 

"What cuff?" she asked in confusion. Then understanding lighted Dawn's eyes and she smiled at Connor. "Oh, you mean this bracelet? They gave you a bracelet?" Dawn commented, turning the bracelet around on Connor's wrist.

"It's not a bracelet, it's a cuff" Connor said, trying to sooth his wounded pride. "Cuff is more manly."

Dawn rolled her eyes and stared at the * cuff* on Connor's arm. 

"Geez vampires in LA are sure different than they are in Sunnydale. I mean our vampires don't give us presents" Dawn commented.

"It seemed to know me somehow" Connor said, pulling his wrist from Dawn's grasp. "Whatever this thing is, I don't like it."

"Fine, then take it off" Dawn stated logically. Connor stared at her a moment, puzzled that the thought had never occurred to him before. 

Then he tried to yank the cuff open but it wouldn't budge. He tried to pull it over his hand but it suddenly seemed much too tight. Connor pulled out one of his long blades he kept at all times and tried to cut through the cuff. Not even a scratch. 

"Ummm" Connor said, staring at it in confusion. "It's not coming off."

****

"Why's this filed under demons when it's a missing persons case?" Fred asked from behind a huge pile of manila folders. Wes turned slightly behind his own huge stack and accepted the folder she held out to him. For a brief moment their hands caressed each other and the two smiled. Then Wes took the file and was back to being all business, inspecting the contents.

"Perhaps they were kidnapped by a demon?" Wesley ventured, flipping through the file. 

"Still seems like more of a 'kidnapped' sorta file than 'demons'. And speaking of, I mean isn't 'demons' a little broad for a file name? I mean shouldn't we sort it out more?" Fred wondered aloud, staring at the files that encased her and Wesley in a makeshift fort. A very unfun, confusing fort and Fred felt like at any moment the files would tumble on top of her head.

"Whatever you think is best" Wesley said vaguely, pulling another folder off the stack to his right. "I can't tell you how good it is to have someone that takes filing seriously. Cordelia has made a horrendous mess of the case files. I can't find anything. And why is this vampire cult in with the witchcraft files?" Wesley asked in aggravation, dropping the folder into his lap and his head into his hands. Fred giggled as she began to write the new filing system on the pad in front of her. 

"My pain is amusing to you?" Wesley mumbled through his hands. He was peeking up at her through his fingers and Fred gave him a beaming smile.

"Your cute when your annoyed" Fred told him matter of factly, straightening a pile near her that was threatening to tumble. Wes gave a self-conscience smile and seemed to preen a little bit over the comment. 

"We should probably get back to work" Fred commented when Wes just stared at her for a few moments. "With the filing."

"Right, because we've had so much to do lately" Wes put in, sighing as he picked up another file. 

"Yea it has been pretty slow lately hasn't it? Not many beasties for Angel to beat up" Fred said thoughtfully, chewing the cap of her pen. She decided that there should be folders for all the unfinished cases too but should they be divided up as well? Don't want to have too many categories. 

"Angel isn't the only one that beats up beasties" Wes said, sounding as if his pride was a bit hurt. Fred giggled again and then put a hand up over her mouth to control her laughter. 

"Now what?" Wesley asked in confusion, not sure what he had said this time to make Fred amused. 

"You said beasties" Fred managed to get out between laughs. Wesley rolled his eyes and rocked into a squatting position so he could stand without badly disrupting any of the files. He offered a hand to Fred, who gladly accepted, and pulled her to her feet. 

"I think we're been filing too long" Wesley said, giving Fred a meaningful look. Fred surpressed another giggle and gave Wesley a grave nod as the two picked their way around files spread out over the floor. "I think some greasy taco food might clear the thought process a little bit" Wesley put in, once they got to the door of the filing room. Fred's face broke into a wide smile at the prospect of her favorite food group.

"Tacos? Taco Bell, here we come!" Fred announced, running towards the stairs to get her jacket. 

The door to the Hyperion opened suddenly, revealing a tired looking Gunn. He walked into the lobby looking slightly harassed. Earlier he had gone to check up on some of his old gang and as always he looked much the worst for the visit. Wesley had a feeling if it wasn't for Gunn's inert sense of loyalty he wouldn't go for those visits at all. They seemed to drain him greatly, whether just emotionally or from the memories, Wesley didn't know. 

Gunn's gaze pushed from his ex-girlfriend at the landing of the stairs over to Wesley and back. The two of them had broken up a while before but it was obvious that at times it was still awkward between them. Especially since Fred had begun to date Wesley. Fred looked nervously at Gunn for a moment before edging over to him in concern.

"Are you ok? You don't look too good" Fred said, standing a step below him. Gunn moved down the step and past Fred, heading for the main desk.

"I'm fine. Any new cases?" he asked as he flipped through the few brief messages on the counter. None for him of course. They never were. 

Gunn walked back into the main lobby; noticed Fred leaning uncomfortably against the post of the staircase. He wondered if they had been about to go somewhere before he showed up. On a date perhaps. For a second he felt guilty about bursting in and making them feel bad about leaving. Then he crushed down the feeling; wasn't Wes the one who said they shouldn't be dating on the job? 

"Where's Angel?" Gunn asked, doing a quick sweep of the hotel with his eyes and seeing the vampire nowhere in sight.

"He went to go teach Connor how to drive" Wesley commented, grinning at the shocked expression on the black man's face. 

"Well nothing can go wrong with that idea" Gunn replied wryly. Wesley nodded his agreement to Gunn's sarcastic statement and then nodded to Fred at the landing of the stairs.

"We were just about to go for tacos, get away from the filing for a few moments. Care to join us?" Wesley asked, although it was obviously to anyone with a brain that neither wanted him along. It would just be sad and awkward and Gunn had had enough of that for one night.

"No thanks English, I think I'll sit that joy ride out" Gunn commented, wondering where Angel had stashed his small black and white TV set. 

Fred was about to start up the steps again when the sound of the door opening again startled her. She turned around to see Dawn and Connor in the doorway, both looking mussed up and tired. Connor had a few bruises around his face and Dawn had a small cut on her cheek. 'Boy, they were really serious when they said driving was dangerous' Fred thought to herself walking back into the lobby. 

"What happened to you two?" Gunn asked staring back and forth between the two of them. Dawn sighed and pushed her brown hair out of her eyes with one hand, wincing when the back of her hand brushed her bruised cheek.

"Vampires" Connor remarked cryptically, walking into the main lobby with Dawn trailing slightly behind him. 

"Crazy cult vampires" Dawn put in, dropping herself on the couch in the middle of the lobby and giving Connor a strange look. "They were all 'we worship you, Miracle Child'. I mean how come no one ever worships the key? I could stand to be worshipped every now and then" Dawn put in with a small sigh. Connor gave Dawn a strange look and then turned back to where the others were staring at him.

"The vampires were worshipping you?" Wesley asked sounding confused and intrigued at the same time. 

"Well they attacked, then they worshipped, then they attacked again" Connor said, plopping on the couch next to Dawn. She turned over to look at him, eyes darting to the bracelet circling his wrist, and then back to the three confused members of AI. 

"Then they gave him a present" Dawn said sarcastically, pointing at his wrist. Connor tried to pull it away from inspection defensively but the three had already closed around it. Wesley was staring at it in fascination, turning it over to stare at the ancient runes carved on it's surface. Fred and Gunn just looked at it and Fred commented that it was pretty. 

"I think these carvings are actually a form of ancient Babylonian" Wesley mused, still deep in thought. "Do you think you could take it off so I could have a better look at it?" Connor looked away, blush rising to his cheeks, and scratched the back of his neck with his other hand.

"That's the weird thing though" Dawn commented beside Connor, leaning over to speak to Wes. "It doesn't come off. We tried everything short of one of those metal torches but we didn't even put a dent in it. I think the vampires worked some evil mojo on it" Dawn said, bobbing her head rigorously. Connor gave her a poisonous look but Dawn didn't notice as Fred made some comment about one of her inventions they could use.

"Not really sure that's a great idea since it's new and untested 'an all" Gunn put in, trying to let Fred down gently. He didn't want Fred's invention to accidentally take off Connor's hand or something. 

"I guess you're right" Fred mumbled in disappointment. Wes smiled at her and patted her hand reassuringly.

"You and Gunn could help with the research, find out if this thing is in one of the books" Wesley said, grin going wider as Fred cheered up and headed towards where Wesley kept his books. Gunn trailed behind muttering darkly about how much he hated research.

"In the mean time I want you to come with me young man" Wesley addressed Connor, who looked up in surprise. "If that bracelet-"

"Cuff, it's a cuff" Connor put in, face red with indignity. Dawn sniggered behind him and he gave her another pointed look.

"_ahem _cuff then. If that cuff won't come off your arm I'm afraid I'm going to have to study it with you attached" Wesley said, motioning for Connor to get up and move into Angels office after him. Connor rose off the couch and directed a sheepish smile at Dawn, who merely shrugged, and then followed after Wesley. 

****

TBC 

AN: Feedback!!!!!! Need Feedback! PLEASE! ^_^ …no I'm not desperate or anything….


	2. Chapter 2 The Art of Being Stealthy

Title: Chained to Fate   
Chapter: 2 - The Art of Being Stealthy   
Author: Minnie-May   
Distribution: Archive permission granted to: Unnatural, WNW, Bookish, Gifted, Only Death and Destiny, Shippers United. All others please ask.   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Angel (not even Wesley ;_;) they are all owned by Joss Whedon and the fine folks of Mutant Enemy…..lucky….   
Summary: A dangerous prophecy is unveiled that seems to center around Connor, who is getting…mean? Sequel of sorts to Cruise Control (D/C, W/F, possibly C/A)   
Rating: PG-13   
Feedback: Yes please! Send to: sweet_senshi@hotmail.com   
Spoilers: Buffy S6 and Angel S3 and parts of S4, since this is slightly AU   
Notes: Ok this takes place directly after the events in Cruise Control. You don't have to read that fic to understand this one but they're in the same future time frame so you might wanna give it a read. And review…..^_~   
Dedication: To Alea for being the Brats Queen and Kristen for asking when I'd have the next chapter out. 

****

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I'm a slow writer, and I've had school and stuff. Hopefully the next chapter should be out sooner. 

****

Chained to Fate

Chapter Two- The Art of Being Stealthy 

Dawn sat apprehensively on the round sofa in the middle of the Hyperion lobby. She had no idea how much time had passed since Connor had disappeared into Wesley's office, shepherded in by the older man wanting to inspect the cuff around his wrist. Since then things had been pretty quiet. Gunn and Fred were in the other room researching. Dawn had tried, briefly, to help them but apparently she put some books in the wrong pile and got everything confused. So Dawn had ended up back in the main lobby, one of Cordelia's many fashion magazines on her lap while she waited for her boyfriend. She wondered idly where Cordy and Angel were, but didn't have long to dwell on it as the door to the office opened and Connor exited. 

Connor's right arm, the one holding the ornate cuff, was out to his side at a strange angle as he walked towards her. He was slowly easing it around, obviously trying to work the kinks out of his joints. A loud cracking sounded as he rolled his shoulder and Dawn cringed in spite of herself. Connor stood in front of her, staring down at Dawn cross-legged on the sofa, looking a bit pained.

"Ouch" Dawn commented, nodding her head towards his arm. Connor nodded and rubbed his arm gingerly.

"Wes needed to look at my brac- cuff so I had to kind of _lean_ so that he could see it. And then stay in that position while he studied it and got out his books and everything. After awhile I lost feeling in it" Connor winced then and rubbed at his shoulder. "Feeling's back, needless to say."

Dawn gave him a sympathetic look and rose to her feet to massage his shoulder a bit. But when she reached out her hand to rub his shoulder he pulled back away from her quickly, pulling away from her touch. Dawn gave him a disbelieving look and then tried to cover up the hurt that was showing on her face. It was obvious that the whole situation had Connor totally freaked, it would probably be best to act with caution around him

"So what did Wes find out?" Dawn asked casually, leaning her hand against the couch to steady herself. 

"I'm not really sure, he found out something though" Connor remarked, eyes darting towards Angel's office and then back to Dawn. "Most of what he said I didn't understand. It was all research talk to me. But he did have the eureka moment so I'm guessing…" Connor trailed off as Wesley exited the office holding a book with a few papers hastily shoved into it. He looked rather pleased with himself and seemed to have a bit of bounce in his step as he crossed over to the teens. 

"So…what cha find brainy guy?" Dawn asked. Wesley merely smiled at her and looked around the lobby, taking in its emptiness. 

"Angel and Cordy aren't back yet?" he questioned, avoiding Dawn's previous query. 

"Nope, I have no idea what's taking Angel so long. I mean Connor and I were attacked by vampires and then walked home. Angel had the car. What's his excuse?" Dawn snorted, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Wes gave her that very British look that Giles sometimes gave her when he was trying to puzzle out how she worked. Dawn turned and rolled her eyes at Connor, but her boyfriend didn't even notice, he was staring fixedly at his cuff. Dawn rolled her eyes a second time and blew out a puff of breath; this was officially the weirdest night ever. And apparently Connor had been taken over by some moody, non-talking alien. 

"Where are Gunn and Fred?" Wesley asked, scanning the lobby for a second time. Dawn turned her eyes toward the records room off to the right and Wesley strode off in that direction. Dawn's eyes followed him until his back disappeared into the room and then she turned back to face Connor.

"Was it just me or was Wes totally avoiding answering my questions?" Dawn asked, hoping that would at least snap him out of his daze. Connor blinked several times as if he had been snapped out of a deep sleep and then looked up at Dawn in confusion. 

"Huh?"

"Well aren't you just…fun" Dawn commented, plopping back on the sofa and crossing her arms. Connor once again looked perplexed. His head hurt. 

***

"Why does this feel so familiar?" Gunn mumbled as he snuck around the side of the dark house. Wes and Fred were behind him, pressed to the side of the house like people out of a bad spy movie. 

"Possibly because we've stolen prophecies out of rich households before?" Wes offered, grabbing Gunn's arm before he stepped out right in front of an armed security guard. "Of course the last house wasn't so well guarded." 

"I still think we should have utility belts" Fred muttered behind the two men. They turned simultaneously and gave her a strange look. "What?" Fred demanded, "Batman has one."

Without a word Wes and Gunn turned around and began to talk strategy again. Fred pulled the small scrambler out of the duffel bag swinging at her hip and readied it for usage. They would need the scrambler when they had to get through the electronic locks on the doors to the storage section of the mansion. Unfortunately they were still yards away from the building they needed to break into. Both Wes and Gunn had underestimated the amount of guards that would be posted around the rich mansion exterior and it had taken them an hour to get up over the gate and within seeing distance of their target. Already Fred's legs were beginning to cramp painfully from staying in one position too long. She glared vengefully at her boyfriend; so much for him being 'plan guy'. 

"Ok but if we're going we better go now while I can still slightly feel my legs" Gunn remarked as a bit of the two men's conversation floated over to Fred. Thank God she wasn't the only one with aching hamstrings.

"Word" Fred put in. Gunn turned and gave Fred another weird look before turning back to his conversation. Another second more of the silent conference in front of her and her two friends turned back towards her. Both were looking particularly grim, which worried Fred a great deal.

"Fred, hand me the duffel bag" Wesley commanded, reaching out his hand to take the bag. Fred eyed him suspiciously while the pieces began to fall into place. Why would Wes need the duffel bag when she was quite capable of carrying it? She briefly entertained the possibility that it might just be an overprotective boyfriend thing but she really didn't think so. They were planning on leaving her behind.

"Oh no you don't! You're going to leave me here and do the double o seven thing all by yourselves. Well don't think about it mister-misters" she quickly amended, pointing an accusing finger at Gunn as well. "You are **not** going to leave me behind!" Fred finished her rant, panting slightly and a little red in the face. 

"Fred! Keep it down!" Wesley hissed, glancing back and forth swiftly to make sure that none of the guards had noticed them. Still in relative safety Wes had that look on his face that meant that he was going to cave into Fred's demands any minute. Score.

"Fred, listen, this is really dangerous and bringing you would be even more dangerous. We have to get across the lawn to that building before any of the guards see us. And if they do? We have to deal with that" Gunn said, trying to back up Wesley. Darn, so apparently this wasn't just Wes' idea. 

"You know I run really fast. Hello, Pylea anyone? Running from the law for five years? Rebel with a very good cause?" Fred asked as if both had completely lost their minds. She hated when the Angel Investigations team babied her. As if she hadn't had to endure a hell dimension for five years. She was tough. She was smart. Fred was woman, hear her-

"Ahh!" Fred yelped as a arrow just narrowly missed her head and imbedded itself into the wall behind her. Wes pushed her to the ground and shielded her with his body, hiding both of them behind some shrubbery. Near where they lay Gunn was doing the same thing, giving Fred a pointed look. If they didn't all die now they could definitely complete this one themselves.

The guards walked over to the bushes, from Fred's vantage point on the ground she could see the tips of their boots. The tips of their really expensive boots, Fred thought to herself as moonlight glimmered off the leather. 

"What did you do that for?" one of the guards asked, looking over at his friend as if he were possessed. 

"I could have sworn I saw something?" the other guard replied sheepishly.

"Like that time you could have **sworn** you saw something and hit the boss's cat? 32 stitches in the damn thing's leg and it all came out of our paycheck. OUR paycheck. Remember that the next time you shoot one of those damn arrows whenever you hear a twig break," the first guard said angrily, then stalked off to the other section of the compound. 

"It was just a mistake, I didn't hit anything this time!" the second guard protested, trailing along sullenly behind the first. 

As soon as the guards were out of sight the three crime fighters turned amateur cat buglers rose from the ground and dusted themselves off. 

"You were saying?" Wesley asked Fred, quirking an eyebrow. Fred glared at her boyfriend and shoved the duffel bag into his hands. 

"Shut up." 

***

Cordy parked her car in the clearing in front of the Hyperion and leaned her head on the steering wheel. Another botched audition. After that damn sunscreen commercial Cordy had decided that acting just wasn't the life for her, that helping the helpless was going to become her focus. But, really, helping the helpless didn't pay the bills. Especially the bill for those new pair of shoes she had picked up down on Hollywood when an impulse shopping spree took hold. And who was she to deny her inner nature to shop? 

It was after the electricity in her apartment had turned off and on a couple of times that Cordelia Chase decided that possibly getting a little acting job on the side might not be so bad. To be honest with herself she had never really given up the dream of being rich and famous. Even with everything that had happened on her birthday, Cordy didn't see why she had to give up her dreams up fight the good fight. Cordy wasn't a quitter and she didn't intend to start being one.

"So I had one bad audition? So what? I'm going on another one tomorrow and I'll be sure to get that one. I mean, I love puppies! And puppy chow is good for puppies so it's just good all around" Cordelia reassured herself as she locked up her car and headed towards the front doors of the hotel.

"Well, who doesn't like puppies?" Angel asked, giving her an amused look when she gave a startled yelp and turned around. Angel had pulled up a few seconds after Cordelia and had just been walking over to say hello when he heard her talking to herself, completely unaware of his presence. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Wow, stalker much?" Cordelia quipped as she sauntered towards the front doors, pride badly hurt. Angel probably thought she was a mental case now, as if the glowing and the visions weren't enough to make her grade A weird. 

"Sorry" Angel apologized, grabbing the door and holding it open for her. She walked through without giving him a backwards glance and Angel followed her into the hotel. "So the audition didn't go so well?" he asked, tossing the keys to his car on the counter as Cordelia threw the script she was holding into the garbage. 

"Well there's always tomorrow's audition. And the day after that's, and the day after that's. Ectera, Ectera, blah, blah, blah" Cordy said dismissively, not feeling half as unmoved as she was coming off. "How was the driving lesson? Is Connor speed racer yet?" Cordelia asked, steering the conversation away from herself. 

"Well there was speed…and terror. To be honest I'm still working on repressing the entire thing" Angel replied giving Cordy a big grin, which she returned.

"My driving wasn't that bad!" Connor protested, coming into the room with two bowls of ice cream, nails painted bright pink. Angel's eyes were immediately glued to his son's periwinkle colored nails. Gulp. 

"Umm son?" Angel asked, nodding towards Connor's hands. Connor gave a confused look and then glanced down, turning a bright shade of red when he realized what Angel was referring to. 

"Hey! That's my nail polish!" Cordelia said indignantly as she strode over to Connor. 

"Sorry Cordy, I didn't bring along any of my own so we had to use some of yours" Dawn replied, appearing in the doorway with a bag of popcorn and tiny cotton balls between her pinkly hued toes. "But doesn't it go great with Connor's skin tone?" 

Cordy conceded that it did and while the two girls were talking about the improtu movie night that Connor and Dawn had decided to have when the others left, Angel's eyes strayed back to his son. There seemed to be something…off, about him in some way. Something that wasn't immediately noticeable but there all the same. Connor noticed his father's stare and nervously played with the bracelet around his wrist. 

"Dawn, first nail polish now jewelry? What are you trying to do to my son?" Angel asked in exasperation.

"It's not jewelry! It's a cuff!" Connor protested, putting down the bowls of melted ice cream that were effectively freezing his hands off. 

"What?" Angel asked, confused into silence. The silence permeated the lobby of the hotel for a whole minute before Dawn finally broke the silence.

"Boy do we have a story to tell you."

***

"This is so tight, did I mention how cool Gwen is?" Gunn commented in a hushed whisper as he snuck in behind Wesley through the now open door of their targeted building. As soon as the door was securely closed behind them Wesley flipped on his flashlight, throwing his beam around the room for the prophesy they were looking for. Beside him, Gunn did the same.

"You mean that girl that killed you? I think I do remember you speaking of her, but if I remember correctly 'cool' was not a word you used to describe her" Wesley commented, walking over to a shelf and carefully moving a few dusty objects.

"Ok so we might have gotten off to a bad start but you gotta admit, setting us up with all these super gadgets was really cool of her" Gunn replied, picking up a spherical object that began to glow.

"Gunn! Put that down before you summon a banshee!" Wes called out in clipped tones. Boy was English on edge tonight, Gunn thought to himself, hurriedly replacing the orb. 

"Sorry man" Gunn replied, going over to another shelf and gingerly moving things out of the way. There were a few moments when neither man said a word; both totally focused on the task at hand. It seemed it would stay that way until Gunn began talking again. 

"I mean she gave us that scrambler thing and those maps, we would have never gotten in otherwise" he remarked, picking up a rolled piece of parchment.

"Yes, it was very kind of her to share her thieving tools with us" Wesley said dryly. There was another stretch of silence as Wesley went back to work and Gunn turned over the parchment in his hands.

"You think I should ask her out?" Gunn finally asked. Wesley turned from his work to face Gunn, trying to hide the amused smile that was dying to play across his face.

"For the love of God, yes. Ask her out. By all means" Wesley said, grinning as Gunn nodded to himself. "And what's that you've got in your hands?" he asked, finally noticing the parchment.

"Oh this? I thought you might know" Gunn commented handing it over. Wesley inspected it by the pale light of his flashlight and frowned slightly, turning it over to view all sides. Gunn stood by, hands in his pockets, waiting for his friend to say something. After several long moments of silence and no indication from Wesley that he was still on planet earth Gunn cleared his throat.

"Something wrong?" Gunn asked, worried by the look on the Englishman's face.

"No, it's nothing. This is the scroll we were looking for" Wesley said, but still looked a bit put off by something. 

"That's a good thing right?" Gunn asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Than what's the matter?"

"It's just….rather ridiculous actually. But have you ever gotten a really bad feeling about something?" Wesley asked, then plunged on without waiting for Gunn to answer. "There's just something about this scroll that is giving me-" 

"A bad case of the heebee jeebies" Gunn supplied. Wes nodded and placed the scroll into an interior pocket in his jacket. There was no use worrying about meaningless feelings. 

"Let's get going" Wesley commented, walking purposefully towards the door. "Fred is waiting for us out there." Gunn nodded quickly and stood behind Wes as he checked to make sure the coast was clear. Wes nodded and Gunn grabbed the door, opening it so that Wesley could sneak out. 

"So….do you think Gwen'll say yes?"

***

Lilah Morgan walked into the conference room a few minutes before the other attorneys would be flittering in and looked around. For the first time since taking over Lilah had to admit that she was completely in the dark about the firm's newest project. The extent of her information on this matter was that it was related to Angel's son, Connor, and that if it succeeded it might be able to tip the scales in their favor. For good. 

It was the not knowing that was killing Lilah. The way the people in on the secret looked at her, as if knowing one little thing made them superior. Wouldn't they be surprised to know what Lilah knew about them? Adultery, murder, fraud- it was amazing no one had cracked under her rigorous rounds of blackmail. But the senior partners were serious about this one and whatever the senior partners were serious about, everyone else was by default. 

Lilah sat in the spot of power at the head of the table, no longer enjoying the view of the seats fanning out around her as if she was a queen. Queens weren't left out in the cold when they wanted to know something, and neither were people that were in the senior partner's favor. Had she failed too many times? Put her trust in the wrong people? Immediately an image of Wesley came to mind but she had it banished before she could even give it a second thought. She was too controlled for this…this nervousness…this waiting. She was Lilah *fucking* Morgan. 

The first person to enter the conference room was Gavin, giving her the most infuriating grin. She controlled the urge to trigger a trap door beneath his feet or some worse punishment. It was bad enough not knowing something; it was ever worse that Gavin did. 

"Hello Lilah" Gavin said cordially, seating himself next to her. She gave him a distasteful look and rolled her eyes. 

"Gavin" she acknowledged as the other attorneys began filling up the room, taking seats and straightening legal pads. To anyone else this would have seemed an innocent enough meeting at any normal law firm. Anyone at Wolfram and Hart, however, would know from the reversed pentagram on the seat at the other end of the table that it was not. 

A few words of conjuring and a misty presence occupied the seat directly across from Lilah. The senior partner hadn't taken physical form but that didn't mean that presence still didn't have the power to make Lilah wracked with nerves. 

"As you know, we have a new project in Special Projects, a project that all the senior partners want handled with the most care and delicacy." Was it just her or was the mist looking directly at her when it said the last part? Lilah reminded herself that this was not the time to get paranoid and held back any comments about the fact that she was still out of the loop on this particular project.

"Lilah, we hadn't alerted you as to the nature of this project before because of the delicacy of this matter. We know you like to plunge in headfirst. You're a woman of action Lilah and this project consisted of a considerable amount of waiting. But it is finally the time to let you know what's going on. You'll be of the most importance in the next stage" the senior partner told her, it's voice mystical and wispy. Lilah could feel herself on the edge of her seat, like when she was a child and her mother told her an exciting story. 

"You see the subject is nearing the next stage. Already he shows signs of the change. When he achieves this next stage Lilah, I want you to be there." 

"Of course I will sir" Lilah said, sounding a little too ready, a little too needy. She almost cringed after the words left her mouth and suppressed the urge to backhand Gavin's smiling face. Control, it was all about control. 

"Good. I thought you would say that Lilah," the presence said, sounding as pleased as a light mist could sound.

"Just one question though sir" Lilah put in quickly before the mist evaporated without her asking the question she wanted to know most.

"Yes?"

"What does this have to do with Angel's son?"

"Oh…_everything_." 

TBC

A/N: Please, Please, Please leave feedback! It feeds the soul….and the ego.


	3. Chapter 3 Darkening Days

Title: Chained to Fate   
Chapter: 3 - Darkening Days   
Author: Minnie-May   
Distribution: Archive permission granted to: Unnatural, WNW, Bookish, Gifted, Only Death and Destiny, Shippers United. All others please ask.   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Angel (not even Wesley ;_;) they are all owned by Joss Whedon and the fine folks of Mutant Enemy…..lucky….   
Summary: A dangerous prophecy is unveiled that seems to center around Connor, who is getting…mean? Sequel of sorts to Cruise Control (D/C, W/F, possibly C/A)   
Rating: PG-13   
Feedback: Yes please! Send to: sweet_senshi@hotmail.com  
Spoilers: Buffy S6 and Angel S3 and parts of S4, since this is slightly AU  
Notes: Ok this takes place directly after the events in Cruise Control. You don't have to read that fic to understand this one but they're in the same future time frame so you might wanna give it a read. And review…..^_~  
  


A/N: Well at least this chapter was out sooner than the last one ^_^. Please leave me feedback so I know I'm not just writing this story for myself. 

****

Chained to Fate

Chapter Three- Darkening Days

"With all the prophecies that Wesley translates you'd think he'd be a little faster at it" Connor put in irritably, continuing to pace back and forth in front of where Dawn was sprawled out on one of the sofas in the lobby. His girlfriend only gave him a placating look and shrugged her thin shoulders. Obviously she wasn't going to be able to speed up the process any.

"You should see how long Giles takes" Dawn put in helpfully, stretching out cat-like on the sofa and giving him an odd look. "He would spend days looking at these really old, musty pieces of paper. And occasionally he would go 'hmm' or 'aha' like he knew what it meant. But he didn't because he wouldn't figure out what it meant until like _days_ afterward. I always thought he was milking it a little bit" Dawn commented, rolling her eyes. 

Connor paled considerably during this monologue and was staring at her now in total horror.

"Days? This could take days?" he asked, taking a step towards her and abandoning the track he'd worn in the floor. 

"Hey, don't look at me," Dawn replied in supplication. 

Silence followed this exchange; Connor backed up to the opposite side of the room and kept a close watch on the door to Wesley's office. Dawn couldn't help but feel like she had said entirely the wrong thing. It seemed like she'd been doing that a lot lately tonight. She was beginning to hate the magical mood-changy cuff that was turning her boyfriend into an uptight crazy person. 

Connor was standing far from Dawn across the lobby looking at the hotel that had become his home. He had so many memories in these walls it was hard to dwell on just one. There were plenty of bad memories, that was for sure. Getting half-electrocuted by Fred definitely wasn't a memory he looked at with a rosy glow. But there were other memories as well. The first time his father had given him a fighting lesson. Fred's tomato sandwiches, still a huge favorite. His unlikely friendship with Cordelia and his first crush. Finally forgiving his father and working things out. Meeting the girl that he loved. 

This last memory made him glance over at Dawn out of the corner of his eye. She was staring down at her hands with a forlorn expression on her face that he was suddenly aware he had caused. He'd been so cagey lately, so ready to pounce. Connor knew that he should go over to her and try to make it right, make it better, but he just couldn't. Something within himself was holding him back from walking over to her and apologizing for being such an ass. 

Dawn, however, was never one to wait when there was a matter that needed to be addressed. 

"Hey" she said quietly, getting up from the sofa and crossing the room to stand beside Connor. For some reason the room seemed to be several degrees colder over here and Dawn wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shivering. Weird, she thought to herself, Connor doesn't even look cold. 

"Hey" he said back, and in one motion had wrapped his arms around her small body. Dawn could no longer feel how cold it was as Connor dropped his head into her hair and half shut his eyes.

"Dawn, I'm really-" Connor began, trying to formulate the right way to apologize in his head. He had never been very good at saying I'm sorry, a trait Cordelia assured him he had inherited straight from his father. 

"It's ok, I understand," Dawn cut in before Connor could fumble over an apology. He was god awful at apologizing, after their first fight he had strutted on for fifteen minutes before Dawn finally figured out that he was trying to say he was sorry. "It's been weird for everyone, but especially for you. I mean you have no idea what that thing around your wrist is, or what it can do. I understand about being scared of yourself, believe me I do. How would you like to find out you're some mystical key to a hell dimension? "

"Probably not on the top of my fun-things-to-find-out list" Connor conceded. 

"Even after Glory-"Dawn had to stop here and take a big gulp of air. No matter how much time had passed since everything that had happened with Glory she still sometimes woke up screaming and crying from a nightmare about that tower. She didn't think she'd ever really be over what had happened there. Connor ran his hand through her hair soothingly and after an unsteady minute Dawn continued.

"Even after what happened…happened, I was always afraid. I would cut myself in the kitchen making dinner and I would always look over my shoulder, afraid of some portal opening up. I know what it's like to be afraid of yourself Connor but I also know that you can't shut yourself off from everything and everyone that you care about, because that just makes it worse" Dawn said softly, hoping that some of her words would get through to Connor.

Connor spun Dawn around so that they were now face to face in each other's arms, their noses only inches apart. 

As they kissed Connor couldn't help but feel something horrible at the edges of his conscience-ness, something dark. Something that was telling him this might be their last kiss. 

***

"So how many vampire cults do you think are livin' it up in LA?" Gunn asked, staring at the map that Angel had spread over the hood of his car. The two men were standing outside of the Hyperion and preparing to find out as much information about this vampire cult as they could. Unfortunately, neither knew where to begin looking.

"Are we talking about the whole city or just the downtown section?" Angel asked in resignation, folding up the map. 

"I don't know, vamps just don't seem that organized to me" Gunn put in, then added off Angel's look, "well normal ones anyway."

"I think we should just check out the demon bars, you know the seedy underbelly of the city" Angel replied, opening one of his car doors and pulling himself behind the wheel. He turned and motioned for Gunn to follow suit but the young black man was already edging towards his car.

"Actually, why don't you check out the belly, I think I might have an idea of someone who might know the score" Gunn replied, opening his door suddenly anxious to leave. 

"Well ok, if you think you know something why don't I go with you?" Angel said reasonably, opening the driver's side door to his car and beginning to hoist himself out of the vehicle. 

"No!" Gunn said in alarm, a little too forcefully and suddenly. Angel was so surprised that he lost his balance half way out of the car and fell back into the driver's seat. Gunn winced and realized that he was probably acting a little more than crazy at the moment. 

"I don't think it would be a good idea to bring a vamp where I'm planning to go if you know what I mean" Gunn said, leveling with Angel. He was glad that Angel knew what his crew was like, it made it easier for him to lie and get away with it. 

"Well…yea" Angel hesitated, "I guess you're right. Leave your beepy thing on so I can contact you if I find anything."

"My **beeper**?" Gunn asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Angel asked in annoyance. Gunn opened his mouth to correct the vampire but instead just shook his head. There was no way that Gunn was going into a long explanation of beepers when he could be…elsewhere.

A few moments later both men had gotten into their cars and were heading in opposite directions in search of information. Gunn felt a knife in his stomach about lying to Angel, it was something he hadn't done in a long time and it didn't come with the same ease it used to. Still, he really hadn't felt like having Angel play tag-along, it would have just made things awkward. 

Gunn turned his old truck down a dark street that was only illuminated by a few frittering streetlights that looked like they were on the verge of dying. This wasn't a good neighborhood; the houses around where Gunn parked his car were in shambles and several sets of eyes peered out at him from dark corners. None of this bothered Gunn in the least though; he was used to streets like this. This was where he had grown up and getting out of the car he felt strangely at home.

Gunn glanced at the paper in his hand and could barely read his own handwriting by the weak glow of the streetlights. He walked passed two row houses and stopped at the third. It was plain and nondescript like all of the houses on this block; white facing, red shutters, and crumbling front steps, which he ascended to the door. For a long moment Gunn just stood there, face to face with the door and the house number without doing a thing. Once he had gathered all his courage he reached out with his fist to knock…

Just as Gwen swung open the door and appeared before him in a glittery light blue tube top and black pants. She gave him a doubtful look before crossing her arms over her chest.

"There was nothing wrong with those prints I gave you, which begs the question why are you here?" Gwen asked, not stepping back from the door and not bothering to invite him in. Gunn was beginning to think that this just wasn't one of his better ideas.

"Why am I….Well there's this…." Gunn stuttered insensibly.

"Spit it out would you?" Gwen snapped irritably.

"You startled me! Opening the door before I even knocked like one of the Adams family" Gunn snapped back, feeling himself slip into defensive mode.

"Hey, I'm not the one who works for the living undead, I don't think I'd be talking" Gwen said, a small smile pulling up the corner of her mouth. Gunn grinned back and then motioned with his head to the door she still held part way open.

"You gonna invite me in or should I make myself comfortable out here?" Gunn asked and tried to contain his grin when Gwen pulled the door all the way open and stepped aside. 

The outside of the house was definitely a foil for what was within. The banister to the stairs caught the light that glittered from a crystal chandelier in the foyer and the rug looked thick enough to sleep on. Set up around the room were all kinds of expensive looking knick knacks and paintings. Gunn glanced outside and then looked back within and couldn't help but feel like he had just stepped into some kind of portal. 

"Nice place you have here" Gunn commented as he walked around the room inspecting the place. Gwen followed his movements with a watchful eye as if she half expected him to try to bolt out with something valuable. It was the way store clerks used to look at him when he was seventeen.

"Wow" Gunn commented, stopping in front of one of the paintings that was hung on the walls and staring at it. "This is amazing."

"You like it?" Gwen said, stopping to pull on some long light blue gloves before walking over to stand next to him. "It's a Rembrandt." 

"Like the toothpaste?" 

"No, like the painter."

Gunn felt himself blush furiously, for the second time since they had begun talking only minutes before he had embarrassed himself. What would his gang say if they saw this sad state of affairs? They'd probably kick his ass for being such a pansy. Gunn blinked at his internal dialogue. When had he started using the word pansy? 'I have to stop talking to Wes', Gunn thought to himself. 

"Well if you're not here about the blueprints than what **are** you here about?" Gwen asked, leaning slightly against a side table and crossing her arms over her chest. Gunn was prepared for this question now and was determined not to act like an idiot.

"I came here to see if you had any information from the streets about a vampire cult, possibly one that has a big interest in Angel's son" Gunn replied, stepping away from the painting and towards the pretty and dangerous brunette. 

"Superboy junior's in trouble?" Gwen asked, something like concern crossing her features before it was replaced by careful disdain. "And what am I supposed to do?"

"Well if you knew anything about a local vampire cult that might help the situation a lot" Gunn replied, surprised to see she had let her guard down for a moment.

"How local are we talkin? 'Cuse I know there's a wicked cult down by Hollywood that's always sacrificing virgins and shit" Gwen said, taking a step closer to Gunn.

"Local like they attacked Dawn and Connor the other night and left them with a present" Gunn said. He was surprised to see that this time Gwen didn't even try to hide her concern.

"Are they ok?"

"Yea, they're ok. I meant that present thing literally though," at Gwen's mystified look Gunn continued, "one of those vamps slapped some sort of bracelet on Connor. Wes still isn't sure what it is or what it does but we're all pretty sure that it's not good, especially since the thing just won't come off" Gunn explained, feeling his own worry begin to come back. 

"Weird. I don't know anything about the vamp cult your looking for though. I'll ask some of my contacts, maybe someone will know something" Gwen said and the two once more lapsed into silence. With business out of the way Gunn no longer had a reason to be there, standing in Gwen's overly decorated house. 

"Actually that's not the only reason I'm here" Gunn said quickly, taking a step away from Gwen and scanning the room nervously.

"Really?" Gwen said, raising a brow and giving Gunn an interested look.

"Well you've helped us out a lot lately…with demons and…would you like to go out sometime?" Gunn blurted out the last part. He shook his head in amazement; to think he used to be cool before he started working for Angel. He was surprised when Gwen smirked and took a step forward, so close that her glove brushed against his arm and her hair nearly brushed his face.

"Wow you still want to go out with me even after I nearly killed you? Brave man" she said grinning as she edged closer to him.

"Well I do fight evil, kinda comes with the job" Gunn mumbled, wondering idly if kissing Gwen would stop his heart. This was going to be a very interesting relationship, he thought to himself. 

A loud beep interrupted the moment and Gunn cursed as he retrieved the beeper from deep within his pocket. He pushed a few buttons and a message from Angel appeared on the screen. It was an address down in the docking district and the word hurry. Gunn sighed and replaced his beeper, giving Gwen an apologetic look. It seemed Angel had been luckier than he on finding information. 

"I'm so-" Gunn began but Gwen was already pushing him towards the door. 

"Go, fight the good fight. Call me if a gigantic demon hasn't ripped you to pieces and we'll see about dinner."

And Gunn was out on the stoop in front of Gwen's door, back outside on that dark street. Well, Gunn thought to himself as he headed towards his car, that was confusing…but the good kind.

***

Connor didn't know why he was angry. Just that he was. Very, very angry. Unfortunately for her Dawn chose this moment to try to strike up a conversation with him. The tension in the room was thick and she was obviously trying to relieve it and so far all of her efforts had been in vain. Connor was getting more and more uptight by the moment. Gone was the Connor that had held her and told her that he was sorry, he had been replaced by a very strange pseudo-Connor who paced around the room like some kind of wild animal. 

"So does walking around the room somehow increase your broody factor? Because right now I'll admit it's through the roof" Dawn said, feeling the edge that had crept into her voice. 

"Would you shut up?" Connor snapped, turning to face Dawn as she rose off the couch. 

"You know what? I'm so tried of this prima donna act Connor. So you have some stupid piece of metal around you wrist, whoop de friggin do! You grew up in a hell dimension and you're telling me this is the worst thing that's happened to you?" Dawn snapped, glaring at him. Dawn had been very patient so far with Connor; she had taken all of his weird and standoffish behavior as semi-normal considering the circumstances. But she really couldn't take anymore of this and she was not going to have Connor tell her to shut up. 

"You have no idea what I'm going through so why don't you go to someone else and whine about how hard it is to be you, because I don't feel like hearing it" Connor bit off. Dawn's expression showed clearly that she was hurt but she wasn't about to let Connor off that easily. 

"Oh and you make it _so_ easy to know what's going on with you, 'cuse, God knows you're just a sharer!" Dawn snapped back, her voice raising a pitch in spite of the fact that she didn't want to yell. 

"Why should I tell you anything, you wouldn't understand anyway!" now Connor was yelling as well, his fists balling up at his sides. 

"Well I understand that you're a complete asshole" Dawn bit off bitterly. "I guess Holtz didn't teach you any matters in that hell dimension."

"Don't you talk about my father" Connor said in a dangerous voice. He wasn't even aware that he had called Holtz his father until he saw the shocked look on Dawn's face. But why shouldn't he still consider Holtz his father, he was the man that raised him after all. 

"You mean the maniac that **kidnapped** you when you were a baby and jumped into a hell dimension just to piss off Angel? Because, you're right, I'm sure he was a swell guy" Dawn said angrily. 

White hot rage shot through Connor's body and his hand shot up before he could even think. Dawn flinched, her eyes closing in spite of all her best efforts. When, after a few seconds nothing happened, she peeled open one eye to see Wesley standing directly behind Connor, holding his raised arm. 

"Connor," Wesley said in a dangerous voice that made Dawn's eyes open wide, "I think we need to talk. Now." Without another word Wesley dragged Connor into Angel's office, never taking his hand off the young boy's arm and slammed the door shut. 

As soon as the door closed Dawn felt a burning in her eyes and a weakness in her knees. Connor was going to hit her, and he would have if Wes hadn't been there. 

"What's happening to you?" Dawn whispered quietly as she crumpled to the ground and buried her head in her hands, sobbing. 

***

Silence filled the office as Connor collapsed into a chair and dropped his head into his hands. Neither said a word for a few long seconds as Connor took one deep gulp of air after another, as if he had been drowning and was just brought to the surface. 

"I--I-don't know what happened in there" Connor said finally, in a voice so quiet that Wesley had to strain to hear it. When Connor looked up the boy's eyes were tired and bloodshot, as if he had stayed up for a week straight. The desperate look in his eyes made Wes shiver.

"I'm so sorry" Connor said quietly, his eyes tracing the foot of the chair instead of looking into the older man's eyes. He didn't want to have to deal with what he had almost just done, what he didn't even know he was capable of. 

"I'm not the one to accept your apology" Wesley said reasonably. Connor blanched at this, which had not been Wesley's intent at all.

"Oh God, Dawn" Connor said, moving to get up out of the chair. Wes put his hand down on Connor's shoulder strongly, a sign that Connor should stay put. Wesley knew how Connor felt, better than the boy would even know. He knew the heartache of hurting the one you loved best, but there was nothing that he could say to make it better. 

"Yes, Dawn will be fine" Wesley said in what he hoped would be a comforting tone. It looked almost as if the boy was beginning to go into some form of shock. "You, however, may not be fine." 

Connor looked up at this, unshed tears at the corners of his eyes. Connor had always been such a strong young man, someone truly dependable. Wes couldn't help but think that this was probably the only time he had seen the boy truly terrified. 

"What's wrong with me?" Connor asked in a meek voice. 

"That, is a harder question than you know" Wesley began, perching on the edge of his old desk, now the desk he often shared with Angel though it was the vampire's in name. "I managed to translate most of the prophesy concerning that cuff you wear around your wrist. As it happens it seems that cuff, among other things, is an ornament of great evil. It can turn even the most pure hearted men into complete monsters" Wesley said this last part slowly, staring directly at Connor to see the boy's response. There was none.

"I'm evil?" Connor asked.

"No, you're not evil. It's that cuff, it brings out the dark side of people. Connor, it's bringing out your dark side, and it will unless you fight it" Wesley said, putting a hand on Connor's arm.

"Fight it?" Connor asked dully.

"Yes, don't let the evil get into your heart. When you feel as if you might be about to do something terrible think about all the good things in your life, everything that you would be giving up. Think about your father and about Cordelia, Fred, Gunn…" here Wesley trailed off and let his gaze roam to the door to the office before continuing. "Think about Dawn. I need you to fight this thing while we try to get a handle on how to get it off of you. Can you do that?" Wesley asked gently. 

Connor nodded simply, without saying a word.

"Good….good" Wesley said. He removed his hand from Connor's arm and straightened up. "You might want to relay what I just told you to Dawn" Wesley prodded him. 

Connor gave him a numb look and then nodded. He didn't say another word, just rose from the chair and left the office, closing the door behind him. Wesley let out a long breath when Connor was safely out of the office and glanced over to his desk. He picked up the pad of paper on which he had been translating some of the text and read it over again to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him, that he wasn't reliving a nightmare.

Written out in his plain, proper handwriting was the following: 

_The Darkening days will come_

The Son

Will kill

The Father

***

Angel stood outside an old building in the docking district waiting for Gunn to show. The sea breeze cooled his already cold skin and made his leather jacket flap in the wind. His face was a mask, not an emotion showing, but inside the thought of anything befalling his son was eating him up with worry. Where the hell was Gunn?

The headlights of a large car washed over Angel and Gunn stepped out of the driver's seat, giving Angel a weary grin as he walked over. Angel noted that Gunn seemed oddly happy to be out in the boon docks trying to bust a vampire cult. What some people thought was fun….

"Hey there Angel, we got stuff to kill?" Gunn asked brandishing his hubcap ax. 

"One of my contacts said that this was the place. Lot of vamps, keeping a pretty low profile and just moved in recently" Angel said, nodding towards the building as he pulled a long sword out of the back seat of the car. 

"Well enough standing around talking why don't we get to the dusting?" Gunn said, practically skipping over to the building so that he missed Angel's incredulous look. 

The two crept around the side of the building, sneaking peeks inside when they got to a window. It was too dark to see anything, however so they finally stopped at the one and only door to the whole warehouse. Angel looked over at Gunn and counted to three in a quiet voice, whereby both men kicked the door sending it crashing into the room and splintering the frame. What they found in the room ahead was truly more shocking. 

The place was trashed; it looked as if an epic battle had been fought in this warehouse not two hours before and the vampire cult was the obvious victim. Piles of dust littered the floor as if the place hadn't been dusted in thousands of years, laying among piles of broken wood and pieces of furniture. 

"Looks like someone beat us too it" Gunn muttered quietly as the two combed the place over. Angel grunted in frustration and hit a pole nearby with all his might, causing the wood to rupture and the pole to break apart. A piece of plaster on the ceiling broke off and toppled to the ground with a smash. Gunn looked over at Angel and looked as if he was about to say something when a low groan issued from their right. 

Both swiveled around so fast that they were just blurs to the injured vampire's bleary eyes. It was lying under a pile of rubble, which was probably why it was sparred from the force that massacred it's friends. Angel was over to the vamp's side in a minute and had him pulled from the rubble in faster than that. Gunn joined him and they both stared down at the vampire. 

"W-Who are you?" the vampire asked, the fear evident in it's voice. Angel was giving him a very menacing glare that would make anyone feel rather uncomfortable.

"Angel. I believe you know my son" Angel said, his voice like ice. The vampire paled, if it was possible, and feebly tried to struggle out of Angel's grasp. Angel slammed him back against the rumble and the vampire groaned in protest. 

"What do you want?" the vampire asked meekly. Gunn grinned and looked over at Angel.

"Wow, we hardly had to torture this one. I wish they were all this easy to get talkin" Gunn said happily before turning his attention back to the vampire. 

"What do you want with my son?" Angel said darkly, then got closer to the vampire to grind out the next part. "And you only have one shot at answering this one, I'm not patient."

"Your son," the vamp gasped out through the obvious pain that he was in, "is the Miracle child. His coming has been prophesied by my people for many generations. It was looked forward to with great delight."

"Why?" Angel demanded, pushing the vampire harder against the wall until he groaned in pain. 

"Because the Miracle Child will usher in the Darkening Days" the vampire said with a victorious glint in his eyes. 

"What do you mean by that?" Angel demanded.

"Who took out all the vamps around here?" Gunn asked when the vampire didn't seem very forthcoming with the answer Angel wanted. The vampire's eyes opened wide in fear, as if he was reliving the experience.

"It was Wolf-" the vampire began before a whizzing sound cut through the air and the vampire Angel was holding turned to dust. Angel stared for a shocked moment at the crossbow bolt on the ground before turning to look over his shoulder at the broken skylight in the roof. 

"Wolfram and Hart" Angel said with quiet trepidation.

***

Lilah Morgan stood in the wide expanse of the roof of the building and replaced the crossbow into her expensive brief case. She gave herself a self-satisfied smirk; she hadn't been sure she would be able to make that shot. Lilah retrieved a small cell phone from the depths of her briefcase and hit one of the speed dial numbers, waiting patiently for the other party to pick up the phone. 

"Yes….this is Lilah. Phase one is complete. No, I don't think there are any problems. Phase two is ready?" she asked in slight surprise even though she knew she shouldn't be. The senior partners were always prepared. 

"Good" Lilah said with a smirk, turning and strutting across the building. "Very Good."

TBC   
  
**A/N:** Please review, it encourages me soo much and I would love you forever! 


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